


Late Night Talks

by camnoelgallavich



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Adorable Liam Gallagher, Bad Parent Frank Gallagher, Domestic Mickey Milkovich, Family, Family Bonding, Frank Gallagher Being an Asshole, Gallagher drama, Liam Gallagher & Mickey Milkovich Bonding, Married Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Mentioned Carl Gallagher, Mentioned Debbie Gallagher, Mentioned Fiona Gallagher, Mentioned Lip Gallagher, Mentioned Mandy Milkovich, Mentioned Terry Milkovich, Mentioned Yevgeny Milkovich, Young Liam Gallagher
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:41:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25254793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camnoelgallavich/pseuds/camnoelgallavich
Summary: Mickey helps Liam face the reality of Frank’s idiocy.“But, the rest of your siblings are your real family. The people you should give a shit about are the people who give a shit about you; that’s what it means to be a family. You know that all of your brothers and sisters are living their own lives, but they’ve still got your back, and you’ve got me and Ian in this house every day. If you need something we’re there.” He said seriously. “I’m sure Frank has probably done all of the things those kids are telling you about, because he’s a piece of shit human being, but at the same time, you’re not your father. Fuck knows none of us are.” Mickey exhaled heavily.
Relationships: Ian Gallagher & Mickey Milkovich, Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich
Comments: 22
Kudos: 245





	Late Night Talks

Mickey awoke to the sound of pots clanging together in the kitchen. The one thing he hated more than being woken up - was being startled awake. He cursed whoever he’d inherited being a light sleeper from. He’d had enough of that throughout his childhood, in and out of juvie and in his father’s home too. He thought his last trip to prison would be the end of his rude awakenings. Turns out, you can’t get a good night’s rest in the Gallagher house either. He should’ve seen that coming given his history in this house.

He rubbed his eyes and checked the time on his phone which was on the nightstand right next to his head. He groaned when he saw that it was only 3:10 a.m. One of the downsides to living in the Gallagher house was the constant revolving door of people in the house at all times, and none of them had the common sense to stay quiet in the middle of the night. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, he looked around trying to locate the source of the noise. At least he knew Ian wasn’t the culprit. His husband was currently the bane of Mickey’s existence by snoring directly into Mickey’s ear, while cuddling Mickey like a goddamn teddy bear.

“Jesus Christ, Ian. It’s too hot for this.” He grumbled under his breath.

Ever since they’d started sleeping in the same bed as teenagers, Ian loved sharing Mickey’s pillow and cuddling him as they slept. Ian would fall asleep on his side of the bed, and then somehow he’d make his way across the bed to attach himself to Mickey’s back in the middle of the night. To be honest, Mickey secretly loved it.

After all of the fighting they’d been through in the months leading up to their wedding, this was one constant that Mickey depended on. The endearing cuddling showed how much Ian subconsciously needed him, while making him feel safe and protected all night. Mickey's feeling needed by the one man in the world that he also depended on felt unbelievable. Being held and touched by Ian was the type of reassurance of their love that he needed, and he’d never thought he’d have a love like this. They were coming up on their 6 month anniversary and even though it was starting to get too hot to be cuddling like this, Ian didn’t show any signs of backing off. Mickey could live with that.

He knew he’d have to get up to tell whoever the fuck is making all that noise to quiet down, but now he had to get out of bed without waking Ian. He looked at his sleeping husband, who looked downright angelic, and couldn’t bring himself to mess with Ian’s beauty sleep. He slowly lifted Ian’s arm and maneuvered his body off the side of the bed like a ninja-contortionist. The things I do for this oaf, he thought to himself as he held Ian’s arm in the air and quickly moved an extra pillow from his side of the bed to press against Ian’s chest before gently laying his arm back down. “Your highness.” Mickey bowed sarcastically and then turned around to pull on some pajama pants and an AC/DC t-shirt that were laying around.

Rubbing his eyes, Mickey left the room. On his way down to the kitchen, he heard little feet pattering around and as he rounded the corner - getting ready to yell at whoever it was - he stopped himself when he saw Liam on his toes reaching into the microwave to take out a little cup.

Mickey calmed himself down, knowing Liam probably didn’t know how loud he was being. “Damn, kid. You trying to wake the whole block up?” He settled on gentle teasing instead of berating the little kid, which he definitely would’ve done to Lip.

Liam jumped at hearing Mickey’s voice and almost dropped his cup of Kraft mac and cheese but he recovered in time to keep it straight. “Shit! You scared me.” Liam mumbled and reached into the silverware drawer pulling out a fork that looked clean and hoping that it was. “Sorry. The pans fell from the cupboard above the sink when I was looking for where Debs hid the mac and cheese from Frank.” He explained without meeting Mickey’s eyes. He was already feeling a little down in the dumps and now he felt bad for waking Mickey up on accident.

Mickey immediately started craving mac and cheese when he saw Liam’s little bowl. Mac and cheese was one of his biggest weaknesses, much like jello and a puppy-eyed Ian. Putting any of his vices in front of him would result in him giving in immediately - especially the redhead. He made his way into the kitchen and started looking around for another microwavable bowl of mac and cheese, like he hadn’t eaten a huge dinner with Ian only a couple hours before. “It’s okay, but now you gotta tell me where the stash is, kid. It’s only fair.” He chuckled, not catching on to why Liam was acting this way, but he could get to the bottom of it while they ate.

“They’re behind the cereal in the cabinet on your left.” Liam pointed to the one to which he was referring.

As Mickey prepared his food, he found his leftover beer bottle on the counter next to the sink. He picked it up and shook it, surprised to see that he’d left any beer behind, but then he remembered Ian getting all handsy while Mickey was washing the dishes after dinner. That explained why it had been left half-full. He smirked to himself as he took a sip of it.

Liam was munching away at the table quietly and looking at his phone. “Uh, can you get me a capri sun from the fridge when you come?” He asked when he saw Mickey gathering his food and beer to come sit at the table.

Mickey used it as an excuse to grab another beer, so he got Liam’s drink without complaining. “So, you wanna tell me why you’re up in the middle of the night when you have school in the morning?” He asked as he plopped down onto his seat at the head of the table right next to Liam. That seat had become his spot at the table when they were all sitting together, and Liam was sitting in Ian’s seat.

“I was hungry.” Liam replied simply, but he put his phone down. It was open to instagram and he’d been reading his DMs from kids at school.

Mickey wasn’t one to pry with anyone who wasn’t Ian, but he wasn’t convinced. “Alright…” He gave Liam a knowing look and then turned his attention to his own cup of mac and cheese. Ian had a really good recipe for baked mac and cheese from scratch, but everyone in this house had a nostalgic love for this Kraft premade shit.

“You gotta eat it and then go right back to bed, okay?” He realized how much he sounded like a dad, but for the time being, Ian and Mickey were Liam’s main guardians. Frank was still squatting in the rich lady’s house, Lip and Tami were in the RV until further notice (parked in the driveway of their house as they continued renovations) and Fiona was still M.I.A. as far as Mickey knew.

Debbie had moved into Sandy’s apartment with Franny after getting released from police custody when the charges against her were dropped. Mickey still didn't have the full story there, but he knew the gist from what Sandy had told him. Every so often, Mickey would get a shitload of texts from Sandy about adjusting to coparenting Franny, but more often than not they were just pictures of Franny’s handprint on the wall or on a window which made Mickey laugh. The kid was an angel around him, so maybe she just liked giving Sandy shit. Props to her.

Carl had been dating someone too and he was always out of the house, busy with his own shit. He was unlike his siblings in the fact that he kept his nose out of other people’s business, which Mickey could appreciate.

All in all, Mickey had gotten used to being around Liam more than any of the other Gallaghers. He knew that Ian and Liam shared a special bond too and it was nice to see them hanging out when they were all home together. Every once in a while when Mickey had an early shift at the auto shop, he’d end up walking Liam halfway to school and they’d talk a bit while Mickey got in his pre-shift hit of nicotine. He felt his heart clench at the thought of something being wrong with this kid who was normally so upbeat and optimistic.

Mickey didn't think much of himself in terms of a role model for any kid. He was definitely a better man than his father (as Ian always told him), but Terry set a low fucking bar so that wasn’t hard. He knew he wasn’t much of a father to his own kid, so every once in a while he’d feel bad that Liam had someone as shitty as himself to look up to or to ask for advice. Mickey didn’t think he was ready to raise children, so he’d been avoiding the topic with Ian for a few months now. Being more or less Liam’s guardian now made him nervous because he didn’t know if he was up to the task of assuming so much responsibility. He wasn’t Liam’s dad by any means, but he wanted the kid to know he was there for him, for anything he needed.

“Yeah I will.” Liam nodded, he was trying not to look like he was deep in thought but he was.

“Debbie’s gonna get mad when we finish all her mac and cheese, but we’ll just have to keep this between us.” Mickey smiled with a wink. “Ian doesn’t need to know about this either.” He chuckled, knowing his husband would have comments about how his homemade baked mac and cheese is better than the processed crap.

“His grilled chicken last night was so dry.” Liam whispered as if Ian might hear his criticism. “I feel bad for saying it… but it was. Can you cook tomorrow night?” He chuckled as he saw Mickey’s smirk.

“Fuck no, we’re getting pizza tomorrow. And, don’t worry I won’t tell him what you thought about his dinner. His health kick is ‘inspiring him to use fewer ingredients’ but you’re right, it was dry as fuck.” He laughed, mimicking Ian’s voice before he continued happily eating his mac and cheese. He was taking huge bites at first, but kept having to remind himself to slow down in order to enjoy this late night snack. “Damn these bowls are tiny, bad planning on their part. Now I have to eat another one.” He grumbled and got up to make another in the microwave. “You want one?” He offered Liam and watched the young boy’s face light up with excitement.

“Yeah!” Liam exclaimed and then clamped his palm down over his mouth, his eyes looking apologetic for being so loud. He looked towards the steps but all was quiet on the second floor so he relaxed a little.

“Chill, kiddo.” Mickey chuckled, speaking at his normal volume. “Ian’s out cold and I’m sure Carl is too. I heard him get in an hour ago.” It was a curse being such a light sleeper in this household.

“Thanks for making me another one.” Liam smiled at Mickey as he relaxed realizing that he hadn’t woken his brothers up.

Mickey was finishing off his almost empty cup of mac and cheese just as Liam came into the kitchen to throw away his first plastic bowl too. These were much faster to make in the middle of the night than the boxed dinner. Liam walked over to Mickey who handed him the first cup of their second round right as it came out of the microwave. Mickey had a reputation in this family for being a little stingy with his food, but neither of them were surprised by the fact that he’d given Liam the first bowl right now. Mickey only shared his food with kids in their family and Ian. The adults could go fuck themselves. Mickey had gone to bed hungry as a kid way too many nights to want to let that happen to any other child. He assumed it wouldn’t happen in the Gallagher house but he wasn’t taking any chances.

“Are you busy next Saturday?” Liam asked as he sat back down in his spot at the table.

“Uh no, I think it’s Ian’s day off… so probably doin’ nothing but binging that gay show with him.” Mickey replied, faking that he didn’t know the name of the show they were currently binge watching on Netflix. “Why?” He looks at Liam skeptically.

“Um… one of my friends was asking if we could go to the waterpark over on Palmer Street?” That came out more like a question, which surprised Mickey because Liam never asked him for permission to go anywhere. “And like… I dunno I was thinking maybe you could come too? Not that I need protection or anything.” He added quickly, babbling over the main reason he wanted Mickey to come - that he was scared to go on his own in case the bullies ran into him there. “You can come... for fun! Like Fi used to do with us.”

Mickey sat back down at the table next to Liam and shrugged. The mention of Fiona solidified his decision. Liam had missed out on a lot of what his other siblings had been able to do together, so they needed to make some new happy memories with him. “Yeah sure, kid. We’ll be there.” The summer heat was already settling over the city in early June, and they hadn’t set up the old Gallagher pool in the backyard yet, so it was the least he could do for Liam. Mickey smirked as he realized that he’d just made plans for himself and Ian. They definitely didn’t do that before they got married, but now they did ‘couple things’ as a unit. Gross, He chuckled internally.

Liam cracked a smile and nodded in thanks, eating the second cup of mac and cheese in record time and then breaking open his capri sun pouch. He finished that in two gulps too and then picked up his phone again, looking at it with a frown. He glanced up at Mickey and then back at his phone, opening his mouth to ask him something and then changing his mind and staying quiet.

Mickey saw Liam in his periphery, but he wasn’t going to rush the kid. He happily munched on his snack and finished most of it as he gave Liam time to gather his thoughts.

“Some kids at school are saying shit about me and Frank.” Liam quietly admitted to Mickey after a few minutes of amicable silence. He normally didn’t let shit get to him, especially not from the racist kids who just didn’t know how to keep their mouths shut. But, lately this has really been bothering him. “They’re saying… a lot of stuff about him drinking and stealing, and how he’s not my real dad because he’s never around, and other stuff about me…” The boy hadn’t looked up from the bottom of his mac and cheese bowl yet, and he motioned to his face while keeping his eyes downcast. That caught Mickey’s attention. It hurt to see how visibly sad the little boy is. He was always so happy and had such an optimistic demeanor. Liam was full of hopes and dreams. Frank hadn’t gotten the chance to fuck up Liam’s life enough to make him lose hope or his happy demeanor.

“And like Fi, and Ian, and them - they told me about the test they did when I was little. It said I was his kid and Ian wasn’t. You were there when they got the results back, right? Like… I don’t know what to say to the kids at school. He _**is**_ my dad, I don’t have another one.” He sighed and finally looked up, hoping he could get some more answers about how he should feel. He was a smart kid and he knew that they were just being bullies, but the words got to him sometimes. Liam remembered Mickey being around a lot during his childhood, but the memories were far and few between.

Mickey was truly at a loss for words. This was a much heavier topic than he was prepared to discuss at 3 a.m., but it was clearly the main reason Liam was awake this late at night. He would’ve definitely preferred Ian having this discussion with his brother about race and familial love. Mickey assumed since Ian had grown up in this family, and had first hand experience being Frank’s son and putting up with him, he’d be able to say something more meaningful to Liam. Mickey, on the other hand, really didn’t feel qualified to talk about these subjects. Sure he’d grown up and educated himself to alter his shitty world views that he’d been taught by his racist, Nazi, homophobe of a father, but that didn’t mean he could articulate his thoughts more than - live your life and tell racists and bigots to fuck off and die in a hole. He’d been able to overcome his own internal homophobia through the trials and tribulations of his relationship with Ian because they both loved each other too deeply to let the other go, but he was only recently coming to understand familial love that extended beyond the one man that he thought of as his family. In the end, Ian wasn’t here right now and this kid needed support and guidance, even if he was turning to Mickey to ask for it, so Mickey had to put his big boy pants on and give him something.

“No, I wasn’t with them when they got the results, but I remember Ian telling me about it.” He slid his chair back from the table and looked at Liam. He took a deep breath remembering how sad Ian was after visiting Clayton and being rejected by his biological father. Frank had always been the shittiest towards Ian from then on, and he wasn’t a very loving father to begin with. That’s a large part of why Mickey had such a distaste for Frank. He exhaled and then started to give Liam an answer, “Look, Monica was your mother and Frank is your dad. That’s the truth of it. You don't have to feel good or bad about either of them, but that’s just the way it is. Those are the cards you were dealt when you were born.”

Liam’s eyebrows furrowed as he listened to Mickey, not making eye contact again. He hadn’t thought about Monica in a while. His oldest siblings and Vee took care of him more than Monica ever did. He remembered feeling sad at her funeral, but he didn’t have a story he’d wanted to share with everyone because he didn’t have any good memories of her. He tried to piece together who she was from his siblings’ anecdotes about her, ignoring their personal judgements against her.

“But, the rest of your siblings are your _real_ family. The people you should give a shit about are the people who give a shit about you; that’s what it means to be a family. You know that all of your brothers and sisters are living their own lives, but they’ve still got your back, and you’ve got me and Ian in this house every day. If you need something we’re there.” He said seriously. “I’m sure Frank has probably done all of the things those kids are telling you about, because he’s a piece of shit human being, but at the same time, you’re not your father. Fuck knows none of us are.” He exhaled heavily and Liam nodded.

Liam knew about Terry Milkovich. Ian and Mickey had given the whole family an insight to what a disgusting human being Mickey’s father was around the time of their wedding and after that horrifying conversation, Liam had been terrified for Mickey and Ian’s safety. He knew he was Ian’s youngest sibling and there wasn’t much he could do to protect his older brother, but he made sure to keep an eye out for who was coming near the house - before and after their wedding. Now that Terry was back in prison, everything had gone back to normal. As normal as they’d ever experienced that is.

“All of you have been better off with Frank out of the picture.” Mickey promised. He definitely knew that was true for Ian. Frank avoided Ian for most of his life. On some level, Ian had come to terms with Frank resenting him for being Clayton’s son. Ian didn’t put up with Frank’s shenanigans and Frank stayed out of Ian’s life for the most part. Ian and Mickey had both been surprised to see Frank show up to their wedding.

Mickey thought of all of Frank’s hairbrained schemes from years ago, like asking Mickey to borrow a gun as if Mickey would’ve been stupid enough to give him one. “Your piece of shit sperm donor has nothing to do with who you are as a person. He’s never sober for long enough to remember how many kids he has, let alone their names.” Mickey rolled his eyes, thinking the same could be said for Terry. Both of their shitty fathers had been more than happy to procreate even though they had no intention of raising the kids they helped make.

“He uses everyone around him to do his dirty work...” Mickey groaned internally because the same could be said for his dad, again. “He comes and goes as he pleases and he only looks out for himself. Don’t get me wrong, he does have feelings for you guys - unlike the asshole I got stuck with, but Liam, you’re better off with him being in your life every once in a while, than terrorizing you every day. It’s good that he only comes back here when he needs something.” And that’s when Ian and Mickey send him on his way with jack shit.

Mickey felt bad about possibly crushing Liam’s dream of Frank eventually turning out to be a good father, but there was only so much Mickey could protect him from. Liam was being confronted by the truth about Frank by those little shits at school, and Mickey was here to help him puzzle through it, but he wouldn’t dictate how Liam should feel. He could see a lot of himself in Liam from how independent and self-sufficient he is at age 10. Growing up in the Milkovich house of horrors, Mickey and his siblings had a level of camaraderie after all the trauma Terry put them through. Only the Milkovich siblings could understand what it had been like to live there in constant fear of Terry, but that bond felt more and more broken as they grew up and everyone fucked off to who knows where. The reality of his situation is that Mickey had been on his own to deal with all of his shit from a very young age. It had made him the strong person he is, but he wouldn’t say he was glad he went through all that shit. No child should have to hurt the way he had. That was why looking out for Liam had become a responsibility that he bore - he may not have been ready for it, but it’s here and it matters to him.

The gears in Liam’s mind were clearly turning as he listened to Mickey and processed what he was saying. There wasn’t anything else for him to ask, he just needed to figure out his feelings towards Frank on his own, just like Mickey said. Maybe Ian could take him to visit Monica’s grave soon so he could learn a little more about her too. From this conversation, Liam was coming to realize that this was his lot in life, but it doesn’t have to be something he’s upset with.

“You got your whole life ahead of you kid. You don’t have to figure it all out tonight.” He patted Liam’s shoulder gently and then ate the last two bites in his bowl. “Frank will probably be around for another 50 years like the cockroach he is - so you’ve got time.” He grumbled before he stood from his seat with a yawn, walking over to the steps to head back to bed while scratching his stomach over his t-shirt. “Oh, and also…” He turned back to look at Liam when he was on the first step up. “If any of those little fuckers try and give you shit because of your skin color, you come to me. That shit’s not okay. I don’t care how old they are; they’ll get their asses beat for being racist. You understand me?” He arched his eyebrows and waited for a response from Liam.

“Yeah… Thanks, Mick.” Liam nodded, putting their bowls away and then following him to the steps.

“You don’t gotta thank me.” Mickey shook his head and led the way back upstairs. “Fucking racist pieces of shit… my piece of shit father… more than deserve a punch in the face.” Mickey continued under his breath, grumbling the entire way up the steps.

Liam tried to hold back his laughter as he heard every other word. He patted Mickey’s arm lightly as another thank you and a ‘chill the fuck out, I deal with this every day’ pat, before turning and heading into his room, while Mickey turned to go back to his own.

Liam set his phone to charge and then climbed up onto the top bunk, laying down in the dark and looking around his room. All of his brothers had moved out of the room and he had the entire space to himself now. Often it would feel lonely looking around and remembering how they all used to be in here, but not tonight. After his talk with Mickey, it felt good to know that he at least had two older brothers looking out for him.

**Author's Note:**

> I really want the show to explore Mickey’s relationship with all of the Gallaghers individually, so I wrote out a little fic of Mickey and Liam bonding while they eat mac and cheese.  
> 
> 
> I want to say a huge thank you to my bff Jena (@gallavich-doodles on insta) for beta-ing this fic for me AND CREATING FANART FOR THIS FIC. ILYSM BABE! And I also want to thank Tati for the mac and cheese headcanon!
> 
> Please let me know what you guys think and what you'd like to read next! I'm working on MUCH longer fics, so keep an eye out for those! Thanks for reading! :) 
> 
> Love,  
> @cam.monaghanfan (insta)  
> @cam_monaghanfan (twitter)


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